Support Downtown Sarasota

This petition is on behalf of beautiful Downtown Sarasota to be a great place to live, a great place to go out, a great place to enjoy any type of entertainment, a place to be together with friends and family, a place to dine any cuisine, a place to dance, a place to laugh, a place to live; A place for young and old, a place that is inviting for families, inviting for elderly people, inviting for young professionals, inviting for business people, and inviting for people who want entertainment; simply a place for everybody.

To accomplish this, diversity is key: restaurants in all flavors, clubs and bars in all flavors, retail in all flavors. Why? Because it is intended for everybody, and we are all unique and different in taste.
The challenge as with any downtown area (not limited to Sarasota), is to find the right balance in having all these different flavors co-excist.

This can only be achieved by communication: we all express our opinion, we all listen, and we all respect and show understanding of each others opinion. With that we try to create solutions which work for all….

This is an ongoing process, and it will never end, but with every day of execution, with every day of working together, Downtown Sarasota will become what we all want it to become!

As an owner of multiple businesses on Main Street, Sarasota, I personally am tired of the ongoing negativity created by certain groups who are just complaining about anything downtown they do not like. Not only is it extremely disrespectful towards the business people who work hard day and night to run a successful business, it is also disrespectful to all the people who work downtown, and are actually servicing everybody by working hard and giving it their best. Last but not least, it is disrespectful towards other people who enjoy downtown in their own way. Because it is different than your way, because you don't like it, does not mean these people are bad; they are just different!
These "negative" groups act, as if they own downtown. Sorry, but that is not the case; downtown Sarasota is from the people; all the people. We do not have to agree on everything, but I am more than confident that the majority in Sarasota is willing to put in positive energy in this discussion, instead of the current negativity.

A situation has been created where one downtown residents opinion is seen as the opinion of all residents, wherein one complaint is seen to be the experience of all. This has happened because these individuals express their opinion and create that image. It is time now to show the real opinion of the majority of people; stand up, speak, and sign this petition if you love downtown, support diversity, support entertainment and are in favor of Downtown Sarasota growing to the potential it has, while keeping the balance of living and entertainment in place.
I am not asking you to like or dislike a specific business (definitely not one of mine :)), I am not asking you to express your personal frustrations or irritations about certain groups; I am just asking you to show that you care, to show that you are not afraid of change, to show that you are willing to listen to others, and are willing to make it work together.
Thank you for your time, and thank you for your support.

With the right support I will present your signatures to the city officials; hopefully allowing us all to have a open, public and transparent discussion on the future of Downtown Sarasota focusing on what we want, instead of what we do not want.